Anyone restore steering wheels?

andyf · Apr 28, 2019

The red steering wheel in my '65 Coronet 500 is cracked in several places. I'm not sure if it can be saved or not. I looked around a bit and didn't come up with any restoration places that fix steering wheels but I assume there are a few guys who know how to do it. Year One sells a reproduction wheel for $400 but I don't know if it is any good or not. A lot of YO parts are Chinese garbage so I'm never super excited about ordering anything from them.

Darter6 · Apr 28, 2019

The body shop that did my 65 also did the steering wheel.They used JB Weld with allot of filling and sanding.So far it has been 3 years and held up well.Several do it yourself articles have been written in the Mopar magazines you can do a search for them.

Sahara · Apr 28, 2019

There’s a guy in Edmonton Alberta Canada that does this professionally. He does stuff for clients all over the world and has done the steering wheels for many champion show cars, including the prestigious Oakland Roadster Show. I think on Facebook he’s The Steering Wheel Guy.
Not cheap, but absolutely the best.

65hemi · Apr 28, 2019

The Steering Wheel Guy restored the wood grain wheel in my 71 Cuda.
Beautiful work but $$$ as expected.
My 65 has a repop wheel from MegaParts, which is likely the same as the YO wheel, but more reasonably priced.

Demonic · Apr 28, 2019

http://www.garyssteeringwheel.com/about.htm

1969CoronetR/T · Apr 28, 2019

I used the Steering Wheel Guy and I think it was about $400.00 for the wheel. 8 years and no problems.

VANDAN · Apr 28, 2019

I picked up a Re-pro from Classic Industries for my '65 Coronet. They offer them in several colors, and if you catch one of their sales, it's probably the least costly way to go...

BeepBeepRR · Apr 28, 2019

I did the steering wheel in a 1969 roadrunner. Started out with huge cracks in it and missing some chunks around the center. Turned out decent. Used Por brand epoxy putty and lots of sanding..

dartforforty · Apr 29, 2019

We have a member on the board who does quality work, in Michigan or close I think.
Can't remember his name.
I purchased one from him for my 64 Belvedere.

Centerline · Apr 29, 2019

I did my own using JB Weld. Was pretty easy really, it just took a little time. Here's what I started with...

Deep cracks and missing pieces.

Damage was pretty much all the way around the wheel.

And the back of the wheel.

Filled all the cracks with JB Weld which sands pretty easily I might add.

Primed and painted.

And the finished product. Total cost... under $10.

moparsteve636 · Apr 29, 2019

Charlie Quarters in Tawas City Mi. repaired my 64 S.F. two tone blue looks great! His e/m is mitzi265@hotmail .com Tell him Steve sent you!

khryslerkid · Apr 29, 2019

@BeepBeepRR and @Centerline nice work! :thumbsup:

I probably would have thrown those wheels away, wow!

Mine looks good for the exception of the top half. There's so many small cracks and I'm thinking you would have to V groove them all in order to get them clean enough for the JB weld to stick?

lyndondb · Apr 29, 2019

www.garyssteeringwheel.com
Gary did mine, fantastic job. Been several years ago.

BeepBeepRR · Apr 29, 2019

Yes grooved all of the huge cracks out. Filled with the epoxy putty shaped a little larger than actual size and sanded. Used a dremel to help with finer lines. Mike the guy who owns the roadrunner was ready to buy a repop but I said let me try something before you buy one. He was pleased with the results. Actually was amazed I was able to fix it. 20 bucks later and about 4 hours sanding and I’d say it was successful.

BeepBeepRR · Apr 29, 2019

I will be doing this to my 66 steering wheel as well. Ill post pictures of it before I start. Its in pretty rough shape.

64BEL · Apr 29, 2019

My daughter and I restored the one on our '64 Belvedere using PC-7. Pics here:
https://www.forbbodiesonly.com/moparforum/threads/steering-wheel-restoration.70086/

It came out very nice, but it has developed some cracks over the years since. The car is stored in an unheated building in the cold Wisconsin winters, so that hasn't helped. I sold Charlie Quarters a couple of core wheels. He seems like a really good guy. I've also read good things about the others mentioned here.

The reproduction wheels for the '62-'65 cars are nice, but they aren't quite correct. They have some holes that don't belong, if I remember correctly. That might not matter, but be aware of it.

andyf · Apr 30, 2019

I have a couple of extra nice green steering wheels that I could get repainted. That might be the easiest thing for me to do. The green wheels that I have do not have any cracks so they do not need any repair. They are just the wrong color for my car.

Bull1tt · May 1, 2019

I use PC-7 epoxy to fix steering wheels. Easy sanding, holds up well.

Ron H · May 1, 2019

I had mine done maybe 10 years ago and now has a few splits so wondering about restoing myself this go around. Beautiful work posted here. Wondering about the steps to prep the cracks for filling...I suppose rough up with scotch pads and putty knife in to fill in/overlap cracks and let that dry to sand down...then prime & paint. Aside from the hours of work am I missing any tips?

BeepBeepRR · May 1, 2019

Dremel and a bevel the edges of all the cracks.. Fill with your choice of filler, sand and shape as needed. Prime and paint. Pretty simple as long as you sit back with a cold one and just pluck away.

Anyone restore steering wheels?

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